MIT’s Technology Review magazine just published its TR50 list of the 50 most innovative companies in 2012. “The TR50 companies are leaders,” said Jason Pontin, editor in chief and publisher of the magazine. “They are setting the agenda in their markets and prompting other companies to follow them.”

GE is on the TR50 list. The editors recognized GE’s jet-engine powered gas turbines as a “key innovation” for “building flexible and efficient natural-gas power plants.”

The technology makes it easier for utilities to handle electricity generated by intermittent sources of renewable energy like wind and solar power. When wind stops blowing, the turbines can go from cold iron to 50 megawatts in just 10 minutes and make up for the lost electricity.